In Old Santa Fe (1934)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

David Howard

Writers:

Colbert Clark (screenplay)
James Gruen (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 November 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

An unusual and colorful western with music and a beautiful background.

Plot:

Kentucky loses his horse in a rigged horse race and gets framed for the murder of a stagecoach driver.

Plot Keywords:

Horse | Cowboy | Singing Cowboy | Singer | Musician

Cast

Ken Maynard	...	Ken aka 'Kentucky'
Tarzan	...	Tarzan (Ken's horse)
Evalyn Knapp	...	Lila Miller
H.B. Warner	...	Charlie Miller
Kenneth Thomson	...	Matt Korber, alias Mr. Chandler
Wheeler Oakman	...	Tracy
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Cactus (as George Hayes)
George Burton	...	Henchman Red
George Chesebro	...	Henchman Nick

Also Known As:

Down in Old Santa Fe

Runtime:

64 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (International Sound Recording Company)

Filming Locations:

Kentucky, USA

Company:

Mascot Pictures

Trivia:

This film is essentially Gene Autry's screen test. And after Ken Maynard's quarrelsomeness got him fired by studio head Nat Levine, Autry won his first starring role in The Phantom Empire (1935), originally intended to star Maynard. Autry later helped quietly support Maynard when he was old and alcoholic.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Down In Old Santa Fe

Good but perhaps it has too much music

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The reissue print I saw lists Gene Autry as the star, but the truth is he's only in one scene singing a song at a party. The real star of the film is Ken Maynard, one of the first singing cowboys in one of his last appearances in "musical" western. The Plot has to do with Ken helping out the owner of a dude ranch that is wanted by a gangster. First the gangster fixes a horse race and then he resorts to murder and robbery, framing Maynard in the hope of getting him out of the way. Good action packed film is slowed down by too many songs. The songs aren't bad but it takes up too much room with the result being that the first 40 minutes is rather leisurely while the final 15 or 20 minutes is a race to the wire. I wish things had been more spread out, especially since the film kind of slows to a crawl after the horse race. Still its worth a look, preferably as part of a double feature evening.